After Day 2
by ashhead
Summary: Tony and Michelle after the events of Day 2.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N- I wrote this about 5 years ago, it was the first fanfic I wrote_, _I'm uploading it here so that I've got everything stored where I can get it._

Chappelle and Hammond had left, taking the people from division with them. He breathed a sigh of relief. They were finally gone, he could actually get some work done.  
He watched Michelle as she took her brother and left CTU. He couldn't help smiling as she glanced back as she left, their eyes meeting. She smiled back, then walked out the door. At least the day hadn't been complete hell, he'd gotten that kiss out of it. As usual, the phone interrupted his line of thought. A very anxious voice advised him to look at the news.  
He couldn't believe it. After all that had happened today, someone had tried to take out the President. He couldn't deal with this right now, there was no one capable of dealing with this, all of the competent people in the office had been killed or gone home. He thought of Michelle, he'd told her she could go home, she'd been so relieved.  
He phoned through to the gate, "Hey, has Michelle Dessler gone home yet."  
"No, she and her brother are still waiting for their taxi to arrive."  
Taxi? Why wasn't she driving home? "Could you send her up to my office. Tell her its important." He hung up. She was not going to be happy with him.  
As he started to get information from division, Michelle was walking up the stairs to Tony's office. She just wanted to go home, she hadn't slept for 2 days, and today had been absolute hell. She wanted to kill whoever had decided to make these stairs so steep.  
He looked up as she walked in, she looked shattered. He felt incredibly guilty about doing this to her. He finished up on the phone and turned to face her. As he did, he noticed the bandage on her hand, that hadn't been there before. "What happened to your hand?" He took it in his and looked up at her. Even after everything that had happened, she could still take his breath away.  
"Nothing, really. It got hurt in the explosion. I had the bandage on earlier, but I couldn't work with it on." That was why she couldn't drive home. "Look Tony, what's wrong? You said I could go home."  
There was almost despair in her voice as she pulled her hand back. It was really beginning to hurt; the painkillers they had given her had begun to wear off. "Michelle, I'm sorry, I can't let you go just yet." Her eyes started to well up, but he continued. "There's been an incident; there was an attempt on the president. Division needs us to work on it. You have to be here, no one else can access the data properly. I'm really sorry."  
She knew he was right, everyone else who could work the software had been killed in the explosion. That didn't mean she had to be happy about it. "Fine, how long is it going to take?"  
"About two hours," then a smile crept onto his face, "If you like I can drop you home afterwards." He told himself it was a way of making peace, although he just really wanted to be alone in a car with her.  
Despite herself, she smiled back, then laughed "You can't drive either," she motioned at his leg, "But you could share by taxi, although I'm still mad." Her eyes sparkled, she had lost any anger at having to stay, but wanted to wind him up.  
He laughed and nodded. As she walked out, she felt his eyes on her back. He watched her as she returned to her station before he caught himself and made himself get back to work.

Michelle had done about all she could, her arm was aching and her eyes were burning. She looked up to Tony's office, he seemed to be working, she wondered if she should just go without him, she was exceedingly tired. Nevertheless, she wanted to try, so rang his extension.   
"Almeida," Tony answered the phone harshly, he was getting tired of the phone interrupting his train of thought, which, if he was honest, was generally focused on Michelle, not work.  
Startled by his tone, she was unsure of what to say, "Oh, um, I just wondered if you still wanted to catch a taxi home, I'm just about done here." It was not a good decision to phone him, she should have just gone.  
Tony's voice softened. "Sure, I'll be down in a second, there's nothing left that needs to be done right now."  
A smile spread across her face. "OK, I'll be at the gate. See you there." She put the phone down, and was unable to repress the smile that was evident on her face. For the second time today, she went to order a taxi and leave CTU."

Not for the first time today, Tony felt incredibly guilty about keeping Michelle back to help. She had spent the entire ride leaning on his arm, asleep almost instantly. How she had been able to work he had no idea.  
They were nearing his house now, he knew Michelle lived near, although not exactly where. "Michelle, honey, where do you live?" he tried to coax the information out of her without disturbing her too much, she looked so peaceful. She didn't even stir. "Michelle?" He shook her gently. She was completely out of it, there was no way he was going to be able to wake her. She must have been absolutely shattered. He gave the driver directions to his house, he'd have to take her with him, he couldn't leave her where she was.  
By wrapping her arm around his shoulders, he managed to get her into the lift and then into his apartment. "I would insist upon a top floor apartment." He muttered as he struggled to get her walk with him, she was still fast asleep. He couldn't put weight on his leg, and it was making it particularly difficult.  
He slid her into his bed, her tiny frame barely taking up any space. Breathing heavily, he slid her shoes off and wrapped the blanket around her. She looked so adorable, wrapped up in his bed, smiling softly in her sleep. He planted a quick kiss on her forehead, "You are so perfect," he whispered gently.  
He closed the door carefully and went into his living room. He sat on his couch trying to calm his breathing. Who would have thought lugging a body up an apartment block with an injured leg would have been so difficult, he thought wryly to himself. He went to his cupboard and pulled out a spare set of bedding. He didn't know how she'd react to waking up in his bed, but he knew she'd freak if he was there with her. Besides, he didn't mind giving his bed up for her.  
He didn't think that he'd be able to sleep, to many bad memories had been spawned by the days events, but like Michelle, and everyone else who'd had to go through the hell of the day, exhaustion quickly pushed a dreamless sleep onto him. The last image in his mind was how beautiful Michelle had looked when she'd kissed him in the hallway.

The following morning brought a sickening amount of sunshine that eventually broke Tony's sleep. He couldn't work out why he was sleeping on the couch, he sat up trying to make sense of the situation. Then he remembered. She was in his room. This brought a grin to his face, despite the aching pain in his ankle.  
He got up, the pain in his ankle forcing him to search for pain killers. He glanced at the clock, which produced a laugh. He'd been asleep for almost a day. It didn't matter, everyone had two days off to recover.  
Taking his painkillers, he managed to hobble his way over to his room. He knocked lightly on the door, not wanting to wake her if she was still asleep. When there was no response, he poked his head around the door. She was still asleep, lying in the exact same position as he had left her in. He was hardly surprised, yesterday had been an awful day for him, and she'd had it a fair bit worse than he had.  
He closed the door again, and went into the bathroom, wincing at his reflection. Dried blood had been caked into his clothes and hair, his face looked drawn and the unshaven look just wasn't him. He turned the water on, letting it run to warm it up. Normally he slept on his boxers, but last night he'd been to tired to attempt taking off his clothes. He did this now, dumping them straight in the bin. They were not clothes he was ever going to able to wear again. As he stepped into the warm water, he made a silent prayer that she wouldn't wake up whilst he was in the shower. He let the water coarse over him, as if it could burn all the bad memories away.  
Showered, shaved and dressed, he felt and looked a lot better. It was now approaching 11.00, and he needed to wake Michelle up. She hadn't eaten or drunk anything for two days. He considered making her breakfast, but didn't know what she liked. Instead, he settled on a cup of coffee, he knew how she drank her coffee.  
Once again knocking, although this time not so gently he wandered into the room. Her eyes flickered open and met his. "Hey," she murmured, a smile sliding across her face. She wondered what he was doing here, then it hit her, and she sat up with a start.  
"Why am I here?" She asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice. This was obviously his room, one of his jackets was on the back of a chair and there was an empty Cubs mug beside the bed.  
He decided not to hand her the cup of steaming coffee just yet. He'd seen her when she was angry.  
"You fell asleep in the taxi yesterday, I couldn't get you to wake up. I didn't want to wake you." Somehow his explanation did not seem to have the logic to it that it had had in the taxi.  
Not quite woken up, Michelle accepted this as it was, besides, she trusted Tony. Taking the cup of coffee, she followed him to the kitchen that joined the living room.  
She took a sip of the coffee. God that was good. She sat down at the table in the kitchen, noticing the bedding on the couch. "You slept on the couch? Why? You should have put me there."  
He actually looked horrified at the idea, which brought a slight smile to her lips. "You, my angel, are far too good to be sleeping on my couch." This intensified her smile and caused her to go a particularly deep shade of scarlet.   
They stayed there, an awkward silence enveloping the room. Tony thought he'd gone too far with that last comment, whereas Michelle wasn't quite sure how to respond.  
Eventually, Tony decided he ought to say something, and noticing that she was wearing the same clothes she had been when the bomb exploded, and offered her a shower. He'd told her to change after the bomb had gone off, but not having any spare clothes, she'd had to make do with scrubbing the worst of the blood and grime out of them. Nevertheless, they were still encrusted with dirt, so she readily took him up on the offer.  
She discarded her clothes, wincing at her reflection. She was covered in bruises and her hand was swollen. It wasn't until the water started to cascade about her that memories of the bomb, her friends dying, Paula and George, began to invade her thoughts. As she washed away all the dirt, salty tears slithered down her face.   
Eventually, she managed to compose herself, pushing those memories to the back of her mind. She'd deal with them later, preferably when she was very drunk. Stepping out of his shower, she went to put her clothes back on, but found she couldn't bear to. Instead she wrapped herself in one of his towels and stepped outside.

Tony had been sat on the sofa, silently cursing himself for being to forward. Hearing her voice calling his name, he practically flew out of his seat.  
"Could I borrow some of your clothes, only mine are ruined." She gestured to the pile of grimy clothes on the floor. They were really only fit for the bin.  
She could have saved her words. Upon seeing her dressed solely in the towel, Tony's jaw had hit the floor, and his mind was too captivated by the way she looked to comprehend what she was saying. He'd only seen her dressed for work with her hair pinned up. Seeing her stood before him, it was clear how gorgeous she was, her body framed by a cascade of loose dripping curls.  
Seeing him standing there, his jaw practically on the floor and his eyes wide, brought a huge smile to her face that counteracted the misery of her previous thoughts.  
He saw a smile spread across her face, then saw her move closer to him. He knew perfectly well that if she kissed him he'd lose whatever self control he had left.  
Instead of kissing him, she raised her hand to his jaw and closed his mouth. A mischievous smile slipped onto her lips as she asked him, "Clothes?"  
He went completely scarlet and managed to mumble, "In the cupboard, help yourself." As she slid into the room and closed the door he could hear a stifled laugh. He rested his head on the door and swore in several languages until he realised he didn't care. She looked stunning and it was nice to hear her laugh.


	2. Chapter 2

Michelle emerged from Tony's room about 15 minutes later, her phone tucked at her ear as she tried to replace the bandage on her wrist. She wandered into his kitchen, murmuring something inaudible, and shot him a smile.  
She was wearing his favourite green shirt with a pair of black trousers, both of which were several sizes too big for her. If she was anyone else, she would have looked ridiculous, but she just looked gorgeous. 'She would look gorgeous in a black sack' was Tony's opinion on the subject. She'd left her hair loose as putting it up required several creams, gels and a lots of time. It gave a nice contrast to the Michelle he saw at work.  
Seeing how she was struggling with her bandage, Tony took her hand and did it for her. He was surprised at how swollen it was. Michelle's eyes locked with his and she mouthed "Thanks," at him, all the while continuing her conversation on the phone. Her ability to split her concentration always amazed him.  
Finishing up on the phone, she followed him to the sofa. "My brother," she said as a way of explanation. She took her hand back, which surprised Tony as he didn't realise he'd kept it. "He's gone to stay with our parents, he thought it would be best after…after what happened." She stared hard into the ground, praying that the memories wouldn't overwhelm her. She felt his fingers brush her cheek, and she forced a smile onto her face. "Not that it's a bad thing. It means I can get absolutely slaughtered tonight." This brought smiles to both their faces. Tony had been planning the same thing.  
She glanced awkwardly at him, biting on her lower lip. Her mind was screaming at her to ask him, the worst he could say was no. She managed to stutter, "Want to join me?" She'd meant it to sound natural, but the way she'd said combined with the look on her face made her look so very nervous. Then the self conscious aspect of herself rose to the surface, "You don't have to say yes."  
Grinning at her inability to believe that, despite everything that had happened, he might actually like her, Tony cut in, "Michelle, I'd love to. Getting drunk on your own isn't really that fun." That was something he'd had lots of experience with.  
Not wanting the room to go back to an awkward silence, he asked her if she wanted something to eat, aware that neither of them had eaten for a long time.  
Despite the emptiness of her stomach, she declined. "I ought to go, I want to see if I can get some more sleep." It was the partly the truth, she was still fairly tired, but mostly she wanted to go home and cry. Her self control had already been proved to be poor around Tony, and she didn't think she could deal with another loss of control in front of him.  
"You don't have to go, you could sleep here if you wanted." Now that sounded desperate. Normally Michelle would have picked up on it, she enjoyed torturing Tony, although generally he'd done something to deserve it. But now she just smiled and told him she wanted to go home. That, more than anything else, signalled to Tony that he needed to let her go home.  
He called her a taxi., making note of her address. "You'll have to put up with me for another half an hour. It's the earliest they can get here."  
"Then it's a good thing I like you." A genuine smile this time, and it managed to get rid of some of the weariness in her eyes.  
"Michelle, maybe I shouldn't come round today, you look like you could use the rest." He tried to keep his voice gentle and understanding, although a note of bitterness crept in. He'd waited six months to get close to her, he didn't want to miss a second.  
Misinterpreting this, she quickly replied, "Its OK, you don't have to come, I shouldn't have asked you, it wasn't fair." Looking everywhere but at him, she felt her composure slipping away. Why did she insist on doing this to herself, her arm ached, she was so tired, her head was pounding, she hadn't eaten in days. Why did she put herself in these situations where she could only get hurt, especially with him standing there, his deep brown eyes watching her every move. "Thank you for looking after me. It was really kind." She had to get away from him, he didn't want her there, she couldn't break down with him watching.  
Tony watched her fall apart in front of his eyes. The strong woman who could cope with anything was gone. Hardly surprising really, considering what she'd been through. She'd watched most of her friends die, her boss, she'd watched the entire intelligence agency fall apart with internal bickering, she'd had to make a stand based on her morals, and she'd been arrested as a traitor. It was no wonder she'd lost her confidence and her faith in people.   
Before he knew what he was doing, she was wrapped in his arms, preventing her from fleeing, and he was telling her everything would be OK. Tears spilled out of her eyes and onto his shirt. They stood like that for an eternity, his fingers holding her in place, hers gripping back just as tightly.  
Eventually, mostly because he couldn't stand on his ankle any more, they sank to the floor, her head still buried in his chest.  
"I seem to be doing this a lot," her voice was slightly muffled by his shirt.  
"No objections here. Besides, you've been through hell." He pulled her head out from his chest, one hand tracing the curls about her face, the other cupped against her cheek. Her eyes met with his and she melted into his stare.  
"You shouldn't be allowed to look at people like that," her voice was barely a whisper. Her kiss was gentler this time, in complete contrast to the urgency of the hallway, and his response was immediate. He drew her closer to himself and kissed her back very softly.  
As always, an interruption presented itself, although this time it wasn't the phone but the taxi. It took an incredible amount of determination to pull back from her, although he kept his forehead against hers.   
After finding that he couldn't actually get up, Michelle managed to pull him up. They kept their arms locked about each other, not wanting to leave the moment behind.  
As she got into the taxi, Tony whispered, "If you want to call a raincheck on tonight, I won't mind," despite the fact that his eyes said the exact opposite of this.  
She brought her lips to his once more, and as she pulled away she whispered, "No chance." Tony's face lit up at this, and they both smiled as the taxi pulled away.  
The tears which she had feared came again, but this time they were happy tears. Despite all the horrors she'd been through, all she could think about was the feel of his arms about her, the feel of his lips on hers. She buried her head in her knees, breathing in his scent from his clothes and hiding the huge smile that had crept its way onto her face.  
Tony stood outside his apartment building for ten minutes with a grin on his face before he realised that he couldn't see her taxi any more. He went back to his apartment and fell asleep in the spot which she'd slept in. His thoughts occupied in the same way hers were.


	3. Chapter 3

Several hours later, Tony arrived at the hospital. He had briefly considered buying flowers, just to wind Jack up, but had decided to give him a break considering he'd just had a heart attack. He had, however, picked up a bunch for Michelle, although he hadn't quite worked out if he should give them to her or not.  
Not quite managing to hide the smile created by his daydreams, he wandered into Jack's room. Jack didn't actually look that bad, considering he'd been tortured to death. His daughter actually looked worse than he did, cuts and bruises lining her face, her eyes red from crying. He greeted them both and sat himself down when a blonde woman appeared. Tony recognised her as the woman from the other day, the one with the terrorist sister. Kate beckoned to Kim, leading her out of the room.  
Once they were gone, Tony shook his head and muttered, "You're in hospital, and you still manage to pull. I'm impressed." Jack laughed at this, the effort causing him to double over in pain. Tony looked on with fear in his eyes, he really didn't want to lose any more of his friends. As he went to get the nurse, Jack called him back, insisting he was fine, still with a smile on his face.  
"So what about you? How are things between you and Michelle?" Aware that he had been stumbling block between them, forcing Michelle to act against Tony, he hoped that they'd been able to work it out. Since Nina had been revealed as a mole, Tony'd had a hard time trusting anyone when it came to relationships. Jack hoped he hadn't destroyed any chances Tony had at trusting a girl again, he deserved a break.  
"She spent the night at my place." It wasn't exactly a lie. Besides, it had been ages since he'd been able to brag about a girl, any girl, and Michelle was spectacular. He watched with amusement as Jack's eyes widened in disbelief.  
"Was that a good idea…I mean after what you'd been through…" Jack trailed off, unsure of what to say. He hadn't seen Tony in a while, but even so, this was totally out of character.  
Tony laughed, "It wasn't as good as it sounds. She fell asleep in the taxi and I couldn't get her to wake up. Then she spent the entire day asleep." He didn't add details about anything else, they were moments he didn't want to share.  
"That is priceless, wait till I tell everyone." Jack enjoyed winding Tony up as much as Tony enjoyed winding Jack up. Tony punched him lightly on the arm and they both laughed.  
"So is there anything there?" Jack asked.  
Tony looked at the floor, "I think so, I hope so. But she was pretty messed up by what happened. I don't know… I get the feeling that she's been burnt pretty badly before."   
"She's not the only one," Jack murmured quietly. This surprised Tony. He'd not gotten on with Jack when he was the boss of CTU, but the day that Teri died had forced a bond between them, a link made up of guilt and betrayal. Even so, they'd never spoken of Nina before, it was too difficult a subject for them to discuss.  
Tony nodded in response, then looked towards the women who were having coffee just outside the room. "No, she's not." Jack nodded in reply, his eyes following Tony's. That was the closest that either of them would ever get to having a conversation about Nina and the damage she did to their lives. The conversation quickly turned to less painful subjects, and it wasn't long before Tony excused himself, saying goodbye to Kate and Kim as he left.

He spent the next couple of hours fretting over what to wear for the evening. It wasn't exactly a date, and he still wasn't entirely sure how she felt about him. Although she'd kissed him twice, she'd been in floods of tears on both occasions. He couldn't work out whether she actually liked him, or if she'd just needed comfort. The damage caused by Nina was clear, before becoming involved with her, he'd trusted his instincts entirely; but now he was suspicious of the motives of anyone who professed to like him.  
So he spent an hour trying to decide what to wear to a non-date with a girl he'd spent six months fantasizing about, but barely knew outside of work. He wanted there to be contrast with the Tony she saw at work, but at the same time, he didn't want it to look like he was trying to impress her in case she only saw him as a friend. But then again, what if she had made a real effort, and he looked like he couldn't be bothered, he couldn't bear the thought of hurting her like that. In the end, he settled upon a pair of nice jeans and a tight fitting t-shirt that looked presentable without making him seem desperate or over- confident.  
Finally ready to go, he glanced at the clock and was surprised by the time. He was going to be late. He considered phoning to let her know, but somehow it seemed too pushy.

Michelle was in pretty much the same predicament. Having spent the majority of the day catching up on missed sleep and food, she had spent the last few hours cleaning up. Upon leaving, her brother had decided to take all of his stuff, making her apartment seem empty. She tried to rearrange her stuff, but it still looked empty.  
She'd set out some food and had been slightly embarrassed by the amount of alcohol she had. Her brother didn't like it when she got wasted, and so she'd been slowly accumulating a variety of drinks.  
Having done this, she realised she'd left herself less time than she would have liked to get ready. She took a rushed shower, but decided to leave her hair as it was, it took far too much effort to get it to do anything. She was less than pleased by her appearance, her face looked drawn and her eyes had a haunted expression about them. She briefly considered caking herself in makeup to hide it, but dismissed the idea quickly. Tony had seen the way she looked, so she wouldn't be fooling anyone. Plus, the faint shadow of bruises had started to appear on her face from where she'd been hit in the explosion, and she didn't think she could bear to put makeup on these, they were fairly painful.  
Tired and uncomfortable, she selected a comfortable pair of trousers and a nice top that she knew suited her. She looked nice, but not like she was expecting anything. She could also be comfortable, which with the way she was feeling, was very necessary.  
It wasn't until after this that she noticed the time. He was already ten minutes late. From this, her mind immediately leaped to 'What if?' Tony had been right when he guessed that Michelle had been hurt in the past, she had been hurt far worse than she would ever care to admit. Although she trusted Tony, it didn't take much to convince her that there was nothing between them, that he had just been trying to comfort her, and that she had taken it further than he wanted. Why else would he stand her up?


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N- Hopefully the repeated bit is fixed now._

Tony arrived about half an hour late, and knew before he even got there that she was going to be annoyed with him. He'd decided to bring the flowers as a way to pacify her, and he'd also brought a large quantity of booze. He made his way to her apartment and knocked on the door.

Upon hearing the knock on the door, Michelle felt a glint of hope enter her heart. Maybe he hadn't stood her up after all, maybe he'd just been caught in traffic. She put down her can of beer, the third so far, and went to get the door.

"You're late," was Michelle's only comment. Her words ran together just slightly, although only someone who knew her well would have noticed it. She made no move to let him in.

Tony smiled, she'd already started to get drunk. Not only were her words slightly slurred, but her normally unreadable face had shown a flicker of delight when she'd answered the door. "Sorry," he replied, then offered her the flowers. It was a good move, pushing all the doubts out of her mind and causing her to forget to be annoyed with him.

She moved to the side so that he could slide past her into her apartment. He noticed slight examples of her personality, a few pictures, a computer that was better than the ones they used at CTU, a pile of books shoved into a corner. But what struck him the most was the lack of character. It was pretty much devoid of any life, as if this was just a place that she slept at, rather than her home. In a strange way, it reminded him of her. Her life revolved around work, she worked the longest hours out of everyone there. Even more strangely, it reminded him of his life. He'd lived at his apartment since starting to work for CTU, and so his personality had seeped into it. Even so, it had taken years for the place to feel like home, his life was his job, particularly after Nina had removed all the faith he had in people.

She led him into the front room, leaving him on the sofa whilst she went to get some glasses, feeling distinctly uncomfortable.

He was impressed by the amount of alcohol she had. Most of the girls he'd dated weren't in to getting completely rat-arsed, even Nina. He supposed that traitors needed to be wary of getting drunk and spilling their secrets. It felt good to be able to be entirely himself with her. "This all yours?"

Michelle had returned with two pristine glasses that, if truth be told, hadn't actually been used before. Usually when she got drunk, she got very drunk, and glasses just got in the way. "Yeah, some of the beers are Danny's, but most of its mine." Unsure of how he'd react to this, she busied herself with clearing away the cans that she'd emptied earlier.

"You started without me?" He teased, well aware that she had.

"You weren't here, I wasn't sure if you were actually going to turn up." She said defensively, missing the teasing tone of his voice. She slid onto the opposite end of the sofa. Great, now he was going to think she was a bloody alcoholic as well as an emotional wreck.

Startled by the tone of her voice, Tony mentally kicked himself. These things worked so much better when you didn't accuse your date of being an alcoholic within five minutes of being there. He slid himself close enough to wrap an arm about her. "I think we need to get started before my mouth decides to say something clever again."  
She slipped herself into his grip, resting her head lightly on his shoulder, as he got them both a bottle from his bag.

Several drinks later found Tony laid out on Michelle's sofa, his fingers buried in her hair as her soft breaths tickled his neck. They'd talked about everything, although mostly nothing. The only subjects they avoided were work, which brought back the haunted expression to her eyes, and past relationships, which was a painful subject for both of them. They'd both had far too much to drink, but were still drinking more.  
For Tony it was nice just to be able to hold her in his arms, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to stop himself from doing more. Not that she seemed to mind, her soft lips were currently feathering kisses across his neck. Even so, he didn't want to be too presumptuous, they were laid in her apartment and had both had a lot too drink, he needed to be careful. Although they'd known each other a while, it was only in the past few hours that he'd learnt that she was allergic to cats, didn't like cooking, and that her favourite colour was purple.

Michelle sat up slightly, taking a swig from whatever drink was in the glass she'd picked up. She knew Tony was holding back from her, and it was making her uneasy. She thought that the evening was going well, she'd got to know him a lot better, and the more she learnt, the more she liked him. Eventually, unable to stand, they'd collapsed into a heap on the sofa, and she'd curled herself onto his chest. But then he'd stopped, and in the state she was in, she couldn't work out why. Was he nervous? Did he not like her? Tired of trying to guess, and revelling in the confidence boost from the amount of alcohol she'd consumed, she pulled herself round so that she was looking him in the eyes, and demanded, "Tony, do you want me?"

Enchanted by the woman curled up on top of him, Tony found himself unable to think of a suitable reply, and so let his sense of humour kick in. "What kind of a question is that?"  
This was not a response, however, that Michelle was expecting. The seductive air was quickly replaced by one of vulnerability, and her eyes acquired a look of despair.

"Tony, do you even like me?" Not a question she would have ever asked, but one that the sheer volume of alcohol in her system forced out of her mouth.

Surprise registered in Tony's eyes, of all the things he'd expected, this vulnerability was not something he knew how to deal with. With some difficulty, he managed to sit himself up and pull her into his arms. She looked at him expectantly, no small amount of fear displayed in her eyes. "Michelle… I… Of course I like you, I mean look at you, you're perfect." He traced his fingertips across her face and under her chin.

A satisfied smile slid across her face. "Good," she whispered. She pushed him back down onto the sofa, laying her head on his chest as she reached for another drink. She briefly considered whether it was a good idea, but pushed the thought aside. Her initial thought, however, had been a good one. Clumsiness meant that as she went to open the bottle, it slipped from her grasp, spilling vodka over both of them.

Yelping, Tony jumped up, not realising that Michelle was still perched on top of him, knocking them both onto the floor. They collapsed into a giggling heap as Michelle picked up the bottle and tried to wipe up some of the mess. They were both pretty soaked, Tony's t-shirt clung to his chest.

His laughter stopped very abruptly when he felt Michelle's fingers making there way inside his shirt. He caught her eyes with his.

"Its wet, you'll have to take it off." She explained, her fingers still making their way up his chest.

As she pulled her fingers back down to pull his T-shirt off, he let out a breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding in an audible gasp. This caused more giggling, and Michelle lent against him, her soft curls gently caressing his now bare chest.  
This pushed him past his limit, tired of playing the gentleman, he reached down and brought her head up to his, kissing her with an urgency that shocked him. He went to pull back, but she drew him closer. Slowly, they discarded their wet clothes until they were dressed solely in their underwear. Silently, she pulled him back onto the sofa, this time so that he was on top of her.

With the woman of his dreams underneath him, their bare stomachs pressed together, it was all Tony could do to remind himself to breathe. He wanted this so very badly. Even so, the voice in the back of his head, the one that this evening had been about drowning out, told him that this was a bad idea. He remembered the look on Jack's face when he'd learnt that Michelle had spent the night at his. He remembered the vulnerability in her eyes when she'd asked him if he liked her. He knew that if they did this now, this would be the last time he would ever be able to hold her in his arms.  
Eventually, he forced himself up, removing his mouth from hers and looking into her eyes, he whispered in a very breathy voice, "Michelle…"

Looking up at him, she found her thoughts mirrored in his eyes. This was not a good idea, no matter how badly she wanted him, she knew this would tear them apart. "I know," she responded, her voice gasping for breath just as strongly as his had, "Go to sleep." Then a teasing look spread across her face, and she pulled him closer, kissing him with all the intensity she could muster. Pulling back, she slid herself out from underneath him, although she kept one leg intertwined with his, and buried her head in his chest, soothed by his heartbeat.

"You did that on purpose," he whispered gently. He felt her smile into his chest even as he felt her breathing become more regular as she drifted off to sleep. Wrapping his arms tightly about her waist, he joined her, her soft breaths tickling his chest.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N- Argh. There are 16 chapters of this and I was hoping to copy and paste them in so they all went up yesterday, but the document upload and the edit feature won't work properly. So the chapters will be up when it lets me put them up. Glad people are reading this, if there are mistakes I'm sorry, but I'm far too afraid to read these chapters again, it was the first thing I wrote and I'm kinda scared to read it. I will try and fix the paragraphing though, didn't realise it was as bad as it is._

Tony awoke to a sharp surge of pain through his ankle. Biting back a scream, he forced his eyes open, sitting up and trying to assess why it was that his ankle should be hurting. This was not a good idea, his head flared with a blinding agony and he identified this, combined with the nauseous feeling in his stomach, as a particularly bad hangover. His attempt at sitting up caused the weight pressing against him to shift slightly, stopping the throbbing in his ankle. Adjusting his eyes to the light, Tony realised he hadn't the faintest idea where he was. It occurred to him that it wasn't normal for there to be a weight pressing against him, and he couldn't fathom why there should be now. Moving with a lethargy consistent with the befuddlement he felt, he identified the weight as a body. For a moment, he was unable to figure out why there should be a body pressed up against him. In a sudden start that pushed his back firmly against the sofa, he realised that it wasn't a body, it was her body, and he guessed the reason why she was pressed against him in a surge of embarrassment.  
Very slowly, he lowered himself back down, and ran his fingers down the soft skin of her back to check his suspicions. An immense wave of relief washed over him upon discovering that she still had her underwear on. Ignoring the pain in his head, he allowed himself to melt against her, his fingers continuing to make their way across her back.

He was almost asleep again when he felt tears running down his chest. He lifted he head gently and saw that there were indeed tears coming from her face, which was no longer peaceful, but had been torn up by a look of terror. "Hey, Michelle, wake up." He whispered at her, wiping the tears from her face. "It's just a dream."

Without opening her eyes, she replied, "Its not though, is it? They're all dead, Paula, Mr. Mason." Her voice was heavy with sleep. She pulled herself closer to him, needing to feel his warmth. Still not really awake, one hand buried itself in his hair, the other was on his back, holding him as close as possible. His hands were still on her back, and he buried his head in her mass of dark curls, giving her the reassurance she needed.

It wasn't until she had begun tracing the muscles on his chest that she woke up enough to comprehend the situation. She reluctantly drew her head back, the pounding in it intensifying with her movement. She looked at him quizzically, her eyes drawn automatically to his.

"You're memory shot too?" His memories of the previous evening were all but gone, he remembered arriving, drinking a lot, the shiver that ran down his spine as her tongue entered his mouth, but mostly he drew a blank.

She nodded, her eyes not leaving his, the softness that sleep had left in them mesmerising her. She guessed his answer meant that she hadn't done anything too stupid. Allowing him to draw her closer, she felt a wave of nausea hit her, and wondered how much she'd had to drink. Judging by the empty bottles on the floor, far too much.

Unable to bear the pain in her head, she pulled herself from his grip, explaining that she needed to get painkillers. He nodded as she stood, and then reached out to steady her as she swayed. He sat her back down, ignoring the need that ran through him as one of her hands grazed the inside of his leg.

"Where are they?" He asked, aware of her eyes examining him as he stood before her and feeling particularly self conscious.

"In the cupboard," she said absently, her mind focused entirely on the tensing of the muscles in his chest as he breathed.

"That's not useful," he said, using the walls to support him as he wandered into her kitchen.

He jumped slightly as her arms snaked about his waist, her lips buried in his back. She pointed to the cupboard and they both took several tablets. In comparison to the awkward silence that had been present in Tony's kitchen the previous day, the silence which filled Michelle's kitchen was enjoyable. Satisfied at his motives and feelings, Michelle allowed herself to relax against him, her tongue exploring his body as his fingers sent shivers through hers.

This silence was broken by Tony swearing rather loudly. He had just noticed the time. "I'm supposed to be at work in half an hour."

Michelle looked at him, confused, "I thought you said we didn't have to be in till 4." She really didn't want him to go.

"You don't, but Chappelle wants me in early, he didn't say why but I don't imagine it'll be good, not after what I said to him before he left." This made him smile, he had enjoyed being able to tell Chappelle what he really thought, and he knew it was probably going to be the only opportunity he ever got.

He wandered into the living room and picked up his clothes which had been crumpled into a messy pile on the floor. His t-shirt was still wet and stank of alcohol, there was no way that Ryan Chappelle was going to let him get away with turning up to work dressed like that, but at the same time, he knew that there wasn't enough time to go home and get changed.

Michelle watched him examine his clothes, and felt incredibly embarrassed as her memories returned. "God Tony, I am so sorry."

Tony turned to face, surprise written all over her face, "Don't be, I'm not complaining." He looked at her, standing in the middle of the room in just her underwear, god he was so not sorry.

Catching the look in his eyes, Michelle bit her lip to stop the smile that threatened to break onto her face. She knew Tony would need some clothes for work, but her brother had taken all of his stuff. She really didn't want his first day as CTU director to be screwed up because of her clumsiness. She thought of the clothes she had borrowed yesterday, they weren't really suitable for work, but unless he wanted to borrow one of her skirts it was the best he was going to get. Besides, they wouldn't look so bad with one of the jackets he kept at work.

Tony used her bathroom to try and clean himself up a bit and to change. He was quite surprised to discover that amongst the clothes she had borrowed yesterday was a pair of his boxers, he liked the idea of her in his boxers a lot. Looking at himself in the mirror, he knew Ryan was going to take issue with what he was wearing, but it was the best he could do.

When he emerged, he found that she had changed and was tidying up. He gave her a hand until the taxi arrived, hopefully the last one that he would have to take. Kissing her softly, he made sure that she was going to be ok before he left. He wished CTU had been able to give them more than two days, but with the attempt on the President's life, he knew that even two days had been a stretch. He made a promise that he would book himself some time off as soon as possible, preferably at the same time as Michelle.

It wasn't until he arrived at work that he realised just how much he needed that.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N- Let me know if there are any more problems with the chapter formatting (or if I repeat bits again.) Thanks guys._

Tony sat in his office contemplating how much he hated Ryan Chappelle. Firstly he'd arrived late, which gave Ryan a reason to have a go at him. Then there was the state of his clothes, yet another reason for Ryan to give him a lecture, which he did at length. Tony had barely listened to either of these, his concentration focused on not losing the contents of his stomach all over Ryan's pristine suit.

Then came the lecture on the place of relationships within the office, obviously he'd been having conversations with Carrie Turner. Tony tried to keep his answers polite and short, but the pain in his head combined with his annoyance at having to discuss this meant that he was snappy and defensive. This wound Ryan up even more, so then came the lecture on not showing up to work with a hangover.

It was two hours of lectures before they even discussed what Ryan had come for. Tony was seriously considering putting his fist through the glass table, just to avoid any more of Ryan's garbled nonsense.

He'd been surprised at how much he'd forgotten in two days. Walking into CTU had been the worst experience he could remember. Broken glass, rubble, damaged equipment were all strewn out across the floor. There were blood stains everywhere, including a large patch where Paula had been. He'd had to climb the stairs to George Mason's office, George's things were still in it. He couldn't bear to move any of it. Chappelle was waiting for him there, he just didn't want to do this. Then came Ryan's droning voice echoing through his head. He hated Ryan Chappelle, he hated this job, he hated this place, he hated the smell of death that was thick in the air, he hated the screams that he heard in his head as people ran from the explosions.

His head was buried in his hands, it had been for a while, desperately trying to hide the tears that were coursing down his face. The only thing that he didn't hate was her, her smile, the feel of her skin under his fingers, the smell of her in his clothes.

Eventually he pulled himself together, pushing back these thoughts, forcing himself to focus on his work, he needed to get it done before people started to arrive. He took some more painkillers, not really sure how many he'd already taken, but not caring.

Tony was saying something, but she wasn't really paying attention. Stood underneath the balcony, she was surrounded by those who were left and were well enough to come back into work. Even so, the damage of that day was clear, most of them were sporting injuries of some kind. Arms in bandages, cuts and bruises, eyes that betrayed the fact that they hadn't been able to sleep.

She pushed her eyes closed, but it just made it worse, images flooding through her mind. Paula, laying on the stretcher, dying. George Mason's arm about her, his words in her ear. A body on the floor, she didn't know whose, she'd thought it was Tony, was relieved when it wasn't, but he was still dead.

She forced herself to concentrate on what he was saying, something about memorial services. He looked awful, she knew how difficult this must be for him, his eyes were filled with pain. She wanted to tell him that it was ok, that he was doing a good job, that she was there for him. That was probably why office relationships weren't supposed to happen, it created a conflict of interests. He needed to do his job, she just wanted to take his pain away.

She'd drifted off again, memories overwhelming her. Tony was calling out names, she didn't know if hers had been called or not or what he was calling them for. This was not going to be a good day. She should have just phoned in sick.

People were wandering off now, she wasn't sure why. Why wouldn't her mind focus on anything?? She followed them, pretending like she knew what she was supposed to be doing.

Tony watched Michelle from the balcony, he knew full well that she hadn't been listening to a word he'd said. He'd watched her since she'd arrived. She was perfectly composed again, make up covering bruises on her face, hair pulled neatly back, her usual work clothes. Only her eyes betrayed the fact that this wasn't a normal day.  
The names he'd been calling out were transfer lists, CTU was being shut down whilst it was being rebuilt, and everyone was being transferred to Division. He wondered how long it would take for her to realise she wasn't on any of the lists. He went back into Mason's office, his office now, slumping himself down into the chair, watching the seconds tick by on his clock.

Michelle had been able to find out that they were being transferred to Division, but she hadn't found out who she had been reassigned to. She'd checked the network, but her name wasn't on any of the lists. She'd cleared out her desk along with everyone else, trying to make it look like she had a clue what she was doing. She waited until everyone started to leave before she went upstairs. If she was going to have to crawl, she didn't want everyone to see.

He didn't see her walk into his office, didn't hear her close the door behind her, he was looking at the picture which he'd found buried in the back of the drawer, George Mason with a baby in his arms. He wasn't aware that he was crying until he felt her fingers brush his tears away, her hands pulling him into her arms, her voice whispering in his ear.

He tried to pull himself back, to pull himself together, but she wouldn't let him go. Eventually he just let himself collapse against her, his body shaking. He could feel tears coming from her eyes against his shirt.

Ryan Chappelle watched as Michelle led Tony out of CTU, Tony was leaning heavily against her, his head resting on hers. This irritated Ryan, he'd given Tony what he'd asked for, but the conditions were clear. His relationship with Michelle was to be kept entirely out of the office. He watched them go, not noticing the tear stains on their faces, entirely occupied with the fact that Tony would ignore what he'd said so easily.  
Not that it mattered, they'd both pay for what they did to him.


	7. Chapter 7

They'd ended up at Tony's again, Michelle had driven as Tony's leg still hurt. She'd kept her eyes as much on him as on the road. It hurt her so much to see him this messed up.

She hadn't remembered that this wasn't her apartment, hadn't waited for him to invite her in. She'd followed him inside and he'd closed the door before she remembered. Awkwardness overcame her, and she hovered at the door, unsure of what she should do.

Trapped in his thoughts, Tony had wandered into the living room before he noticed that her fingers were no longer entwined with his. Looking back, he saw her and wondered what the matter was. It looked like she wanted to leave. Not that he blamed her, she shouldn't have had to deal with that. "Its ok, you can leave, I'll be fine." He wouldn't be, he needed her with him, but as far as he could tell, she was repulsed by him.

"No… Tony." Her tone was almost begging. He wanted her to leave? There was no way she was leaving him here alone, not the way he was. She locked her eyes with his, and very slowly moved herself towards him, putting herself in his arms.

He traced his thumb across her face, noting the tiredness and pain in her eyes along with the detemination. She wanted to be here with him, she wanted to help him, she didn't hate him. He felt a tear trickle down his face as he pulled her towards him, burying his head in her hair. The warmth that she passed to him finally pushed everything away, the pain in his head, the images of everybody who died, everything.  
For a moment, she was content to let him hold her. Eventually, she pulled her head back so she could look at him. "You know none of it was your fault. You know that, don't you?"

He looked at her. Somewhere, he knew her words were true, but all he could see was how much of a hard time he'd given Mason and how it had been him that had sent Paula up to work in the office.

She could see in his eyes that she didn't believe him. As he opened his mouth to reply, she shook her head slightly. She drew his mouth down to hers and kissed him so very softly. "It wasn't. I promise you, it wasn't your fault."

Seeing that he had caused tears to start forming in the corners of her eyes, he held her tight once again, only pulling away to sit himself down and pull her onto his lap.  
Her fingers instinctively slid under his top, needing to feel the warmth of his skin.  
Tony felt everything melt away at her touch. She was right, it wasn't his fault. Kissing her hair, he whispered, "You hungry?"

She glanced up at him, his words causing her to realise just how hungry she was. Not wanting him to have to get up, and hardly about to volunteer her services as a cook, she suggested, "Lets get pizza."

Tony smiled at this, the closest he'd let himself get to her was sharing a pizza on nights when they'd both been forced to work late. He reached for the phone, and feeling particularly greedy, ordered them several pizzas.

He settled himself back down, pulling off her shoes and slipping off his jacket. Not content at this, her fingers pulled at his shirt until it lay on the floor and she could brush her lips across his chest.

"You shouldn't be allowed to wear tops," she giggled, one of her hands sinking into his hair.

Smiling, Tony took one of her hands and brought it to his lips. "Thank you for doing this."

Ignoring that as being entirely too ridiculous to comment on, she shifted her weight slightly so that she could curl her feet up, resting her head against his.

He slid the clip out of her hair, twirling her curls about his fingers. "I mean it."  
She rolled her eyes at him, of course she was there for him.

"Michelle," he laughed, pushing her back slightly and kissing her. As the moment deepened, the kiss became less playful, Tony's hands undoing the buttons on her shirt.  
Without breaking the kiss, Michelle laid herself down, pulling him on top of her.  
That of course was when the doorbell interrupted them. "Pizza," Michelle groaned, pushing him up. Then, in a teasing tone, whispered, "Stay here."

Glancing back at him and fiddling with the buttons on her shirt, she made her way to the door. A second later, she called his name.

'Money,' he thought, laughing to himself. Grabbing his wallet, he forced himself up. Counting out the money, he slung one arm about Michelle, intending to draw her into him. He knew from her reaction that something was wrong, she sidestepped him. He glanced up just in time to see Jack's laughing smile.


	8. Chapter 8

"I'm gonna go and…Yeah." Michelle muttered, running out of his hallway to try and make herself look presentable. She slid herself into Tony's room. Well there was no chance of being able to hide this from Jack. Not only had she answered the door to Tony's apartment, but her hair was all over the place and her lipstick was smudged. As well as that, when she'd done up the buttons on her shirt, she'd missed one.

Cleaning the lipstick off her face and rebuttoning her shirt, she saw Tony wander in, pulling his shirt over his head. "Jack got a promotion, he's the new head of field ops." He saw Michelle's eyes widen at this, a week ago Jack hadn't even been active. "He invited himself round to celebrate, you don't mind do you?"

She shook her head, a slight lie. She did mind, but only a little bit. And if Jack was going to help her distract Tony, then she didn't mind at all.

As she tried to get her hair to lay down properly, Tony whispered in her ear, "Jack's not the only one who got a promotion today." This caught her attention.

Trying to keep her voice level, although failing miserably, she asked, "Who…what do you mean."

"Well, Ryan needs me to stay and oversee the rebuilding of CTU, and he needs someone to take my old job and help." That was why she hadn't been on any of the transfer lists. Throwing her arms about his neck, she drew his head to hers and kissed him, not caring that Jack was sat in the next room.

After a moment, he pulled back. "I didn't say it was you," he whispered. She pouted, making him laugh as he kissed her again. Despite the horrors he had been through, despite the pain he was in, despite everything, being able to lean in and kiss her made everything seemed ok.

Suddenly she froze. He stopped immediately, keeping her in his arms but pulling back from her slightly. "What's wrong?"

As he loosened his grip on her, she backed away from him, not quite able to meet his eyes. "Tony…You're not doing this because…Well because of…Tony, I got this job because of my qualifications, didn't I?" She asked, finally able to meet his eyes.

Seeing her standing there, arms hugging her body, biting on her lower lip, trying not to look nervous, made his heart melt. "Sweetheart…" He crossed the room, pulling her against him. "You are the only person who would ever ask me that."

Letting him wrap his arms about her, but still not relaxing, she said, "You didn't answer the question."

"Michelle…You're the only person who could do this, you know that. Ryan would never have let me appoint if he didn't think you could do it." Feeling her relax against him, he whispered in her ear, "Plus, you know, its just gonna be me and you alone in an office for 6 weeks."

At this, she pushed him back, intending to make a comment about how he hadn't even taken her on a date yet, and for all she knew, she might not even like him. However, he was still unsteady on his feet, his ankle making it difficult for him to keep his balance, and he found himself falling onto his bed.

"Oh God Tony, I am so sorry…" she actually looked worried. Laughing at this, he pulled her down next to him, leaning over her so that he could kiss her.

That of course was when Jack decided to walk in. Michelle was sprawled out of Tony's bed, and Tony was on top of her. That ended any hopes they ever had of hiding it from Jack.

"Pizzas here," Jack smiled as he watched Tony struggle to get off Michelle, his foot caught up in a pile of clothes on the floor.

Michelle had gone scarlet, she didn't really know Jack and was acutely embarrassed that he had seen her complete lack of self control, particularly if she was going to have to work with him.

Glancing at Jack's laughing face, and then seeing Michelle cringing with embarrassment, Tony leant over Michelle once more and kissed her deeply. As he pulled her up, still kissing her, he saw Jack turning red at the door, the laughing smile now gone.

Jack didn't stay long, he made his excuses, saying he had to get home to Kim. Actually, he was just incredibly uncomfortable. Neither Michelle or Tony had either the ability or will to control themselves, and spent most of the evening groping at each other whilst Jack tried desperately not to notice.

At the door, Tony apologised, sensing his friends embarrassment. Jack just nodded, telling Tony they'd catch up later. Seeing Tony with Michelle had made him want to call Kate Warner.

As he left, Jack turned around and said, "At least you don't have to worry about her being a traitor. The look on her face when she answered the door, no one could be that good a liar." Tony smiled at this, it was Jack's way of telling him he liked her.

He walked back into the living room, pulling Michelle into his arms as he sat down. Between bites of a leftover piece of pizza, Michelle said, "I ought to go."

"Yeah," answered Tony, grabbing himself a piece of pizza. Both of them were perfectly aware that there was no way that Michelle was actually going to pull herself out of his arms or that Tony would let her go.

"Michelle, it doesn't matter." He'd said this a number of times but he wasn't sure if she'd actually heard him.

She glared at him. Of course it mattered, it was going to be her first day as assistant director, she had to get it right. "Go and have something to eat, I won't be much longer," she lied as she pulled the twentieth top over her head.

Tony wandered into her kitchen, rummaging through her cupboards. She'd driven him here this morning, insisting that she had to find the right outfit before they could go to work. His advice that she looked hot in all of them hadn't been appreciated. At least he felt better this morning, they'd both fallen asleep not long after Jack left, and sleep had seemed to finally banish his headache.

The contents of her cupboards made him laugh, she'd told him she hated cooking, but he hadn't believed it would be to this extent. The only food in her house was the pre-packaged microwave meals in her freezer. "Michelle," he yelled.

"Fine, but if I screw up, its your fault." She emerged wearing an outfit that he was sure that he'd tried on half an hour ago, but that he assured her looked gorgeous.  
"You ready?" He asked. She looked at him, she was very nervous. It was a big promotion considering that she had been new to her old position. Eventually she nodded and started towards the door.

He stopped her, drawing her close to him and breathing in the smell of her hair. "You will be fine," he whispered. As he leaned in to kiss her, she whispered, "You'll smudge my lipstick again." This made him smile, she'd already reapplied it four times this morning. Instead he leaned down and kissed her neck.


	9. Chapter 9

Michelle leaned her head against the wall, praying that she could keep control. If she started crying, he would know, and that was the last thing she needed.

When she thought of the morning, she could have almost laughed at her stupidity. It had been perfect, everything she wanted. But now, that seemed so far away, something she could never get back.

She wiped her eyes, they were dry, her tears were still wrapped up within her. She needed to get this over with, she had so much to do, the last thing she needed to be doing was dithering over how to distance herself from him.

Ryan had been right, she was getting herself into a situation which she wouldn't be able to get herself out of. Dimly, she was aware that his words weren't motivated out of a desire to help her, but even so, she saw the accuracy in them. Tony was her boss, and that was all he should be, all she would let him be.

Taking a stuttered breath, she pushed herself up and forced herself back out into the main floor, her footsteps echoing behind her, all the time unaware that the corner she'd hidden herself in was the same corner in which he'd found her before.

Tony glanced at her, she was not the same Michelle who he had held this morning. She'd flinched when he touched her, as if he'd hurt her. He didn't understand, why wouldn't she let him be near her, what had happened?

She could feel him watching her and all she wanted to do was go and melt into his arms. But she wouldn't. She knew that Carrie was behind this, knew that it was Ryan Chappelle's way of paying them back. But that didn't help. She would just have to get on with it. It served her right for getting involved with her boss in the first place.

She needed this job, and she knew it. Carrie knew it too, which was probably why Chappelle had done this. After what had happened, it was only this job that had kept her sane. She'd worked 16 hour days, had rebuilt the entire operating system from scratch, had done anything she could so that when she got home, exhaustion would push her into a dreamless sleep.

She'd been friends with Carrie then, and so Carrie knew why she was so afraid, why more than anything else, she needed this job.

So ignoring his eyes that were playing across her back, she forced herself to concentrate on her work, pushing away thoughts of anything else. Another part of Ryan Chappelle's plan to "help" her. She'd been involved with the protocol before, his excuse for giving it to her was that she was the only person at CTU with experience at it. Even so, last time, it had taken a team of 3 people 2 months to complete it. Now it was just her, and she only had 6 weeks. Technically, it was possible, but it wasn't going to be enjoyable. But then again, with the only two people in the building being her and Tony, perhaps it would be necessary.

Tony was aware that he was watching her again, he couldn't help himself. The change in her was something he was completely unable to comprehend. He'd woken up with her wrapped in his arms, her eyes fixed on his, and he had been certain that she was his. But now, she was so distant that he didn't even know how to speak to her.

Despite her objections, he had insisted that they get lunch together, trying desperately to understand what was happening to them. But it hadn't helped. She had eaten her lunch as quickly as she could, refusing to meet his eyes, and answering his questions with as few words as she could.

Since then, she had been glued to her computer screen, barely even blinking. He knew that the protocol she had been given was a big one, perhaps even too big for her to handle, but she had refused his help and he didn't see that there was much more that he could do.

Maybe he had made a mistake, maybe she didn't feel the same way he did, it was the only explanation he could come up with. Gathering up his things, he made his way down to the parking lot. As he passed her, he kept his eyes on her, willing her to prove him wrong, to say something, just to look at him. But she didn't, she just kept her eyes fixed on her monitor, not even acknowledging him. So he left, the silence of the building reminding him of how much had been lost, of how much pain was trapped here.

He hadn't even said goodbye. That was all she could think of as tears silently made there way down her face. She had seen the confusion in his eyes, the pain. But she had done nothing, and now she had lost him. Even before, he always said goodbye. So she let the tears that had threatened to overwhelm her all day break free.

She was being stupid, she knew that, it wasn't even like they were going out. And she was doing the right thing, she needed this job, needed the stability it brought, needed to know that she could count on it to always be there. So why did it have to hurt so much.

He'd arrived early this morning, the rebuilding was practically complete, all that was needed was to set up the equipment, but that was a huge job. So he'd forced himself up at whatever ridiculously early time in the morning it was, telling himself that next week things would be back to normal, or as normal as they could be considering half the people he'd worked with were dead.

He felt his heart sink when he saw her, she'd fallen asleep at her station, again. He hated that she kept doing this to herself. She was working herself into exhaustion, her eyes had become glazed and she would barely speak to him. She'd be here when he arrived and wouldn't leave until well after he was gone, if she left at all. He'd found her asleep at her station more times than he could count, but nothing he said to her would make a difference. And as much as he tried not to, he worried about her. She was in his thoughts constantly, she was tearing herself apart and he couldn't stop her. Regardless of the pain she'd caused him, she had been his friend, and he still cared for her.

"Michelle," he said as he shook her gently. She was cold, and he knew that the hunched over position that she'd assumed had to be uncomfortable.  
As she stirred, her eyes met with his and a soft smile lit up her face. He'd thought himself immune to this, but the moment her eyes fell upon him he felt his heart scatter into a million pieces. He'd tried so hard to tell himself that she didn't care, to keep a distance from her, but whenever she looked at him he just fell apart.

It didn't last very long, as sleep left her she remembered that she couldn't do this, that she was supposed to be keeping a distance between them. She pulled her eyes away from him and focused them on the floor, mumbling excuses as she fled him.  
Sliding himself down into her seat, Tony rested his head on the desk, battling with the wave of anguish that rushed through him. He didn't understand. How could she keep doing this to him? Every time he thought he'd got used to the idea that she wasn't his, every time he thought he'd hardened his heart to her, she'd look at him like that and he'd fall apart. All he knew was that he couldn't keep doing this, couldn't keep pretending that he didn't care.


	10. Chapter 10

He'd been dreading today for weeks. Tomorrow he'd have to go back to work, proper work, not the babysitting jobs Chappelle had been assigning him to keep him as far away from Division as possible and to force him to watch as Michelle isolated herself from the world. He almost looked forward to it, it would be refreshing to do something that actually required a brain cell, not to mention it would give him an opportunity to get Michelle away from a computer screen.

The day he learnt that it would just be him and Michelle alone for 6 weeks, his heart had skipped a beat. But far from being the enjoyable experience he had imagined, the silence and distance between them had been unbearable, and he was so sick of it. He needed something to distract them. And somewhere within himself, he still hoped that he could touch her again without her flinching away, that he could hold an actual conversation with her where she actually responded to what he said, that he could meet her eyes without being overwhelmed by the pain in them. He hoped that with CTU back to normal, she might somehow return to normal. He didn't care if they were just friends, he just didn't want to see her like this anymore.

OK, so that wasn't exactly true, he wanted them to be a lot more than friends. On the rare occasion when he could get her away from the computer and force some food down her throat, memories of the brief moments when he had supposed her to be his overwhelmed him. He'd find himself lost in memories of her fingers in his hair and the trail of shivers they left as they danced the way down his back. Somewhere he hoped that the distraction of CTU might bring that back.

But that was tomorrow, and it was too far off to even be contemplating. Today he had to officially reopen CTU, and that meant he had to give a speech at the memorial they'd created to mark those who had died.

He'd been working on it for weeks, but somehow his words just seemed hollow, they were just words, how could they possibly convey his feelings, how could they possibly make the huge loss of life that had occurred seem justified. How could they possibly combat the huge sense of guilt that he had, that he'd carried ever since that day. He lived where so many had died.

Michelle stared blankly at her reflection. It was unpleasant, showing signs of her recent disregard for pretty much everything. She didn't know why she was doing this, couldn't fathom why she'd isolated herself from the world. The protocol was big, but if she was honest, she was pouring a lot more of herself than was needed into it. She just hurt so much, and it was the only way that she could come up with to try and get rid of her pain. Every day she would go to work, knowing he would be there. She honestly didn't know why she did it to herself. She should get herself transferred out. But that idea scared her even more than having to go to work and face him.

She knew she shouldn't be hurting this much, the whole point of pulling herself away from him was that it wasn't supposed to hurt, that she'd secure her job and protect herself from the pain that would inevitably follow getting involved with him. But she'd already fallen too deeply, and although she could pull herself back without the embarrassment of everyone in the office watching, she ached for him, and having to go to work every day, watching him, seeing his eyes filled with a pain that she knew she had caused, was more than she could bear.

And today was going to be the worst of all. Today he was going to give his speech when he reopened the memorial. She'd been watching him as he agonised over the details of what he had to say, she knew how hard things like this were for him. And although there would be the distraction of everyone else being there, she knew that all she would see would be him, all she would be able to feel was his pain.

Biting on her lower lip, she pulled back her hair into a severe ponytail, today was about remembering, not about looking good, and she certainly didn't want to attract any attention. All she wanted to do was get through the day without breaking down in front of anyone, without breaking down in front of Tony.

The first thing he noticed was her. He could see that she'd constructed her appearance so that she wouldn't attract attention, but his eyes were automatically drawn to her. He knew that this would be hard for her, he'd seen the same guilt he felt reflected in her eyes, they both had too many demons about that day to ever be able to deal with, and the way they'd been going, today was going to be particularly bad for both of them.


	11. Chapter 11

Michelle had only been able to listen for a short time. She knew things like this were so difficult for him, but his words were so eloquent, and he was doing a good job. Even so, she had a hollow feeling that his words were unable to combat. Despite the fact that he was so obviously trying, all she could think of was the fact that they were dead, and none of this made a difference. Paula had only been working at CTU for a matter of days, and now she was dead.

From her purposefully chosen spot at the back of the room, she was able to slip out unnoticed. Hiding in the bathroom, desperately fighting the sick feeling that was rising inside of her, she caught sight of her reflection, but unlike this morning, she was just saddened, not disgusted. She was alive when so many had died, but did she deserve it?

His eyes had been filled with tears since the moment he'd began, and his throat had been dry even before that. The room was filled with faces he knew, and yet empty. It shouldn't have even been him doing this, George Mason would have done it. There was a numbing pain that rose inside him along with the nausea that accompanied today. He just didn't know how to cope with this, wasn't sure that he could.

The one thing he did know, however, was that he couldn't be here, not with all these people. He needed to be alone. He had seen Michelle disappear and his heart bled for her. All the emotions that he had kept locked within himself since the day of the bomb were coming out now, and he knew it would be the same for her. Then he caught himself. Even after everything that had happened, even with the way he was feeling, she was all he could think of. Despite the fact that she had made it incredibly clear how she felt about him, his mind was still entirely wrapped up in her, she was all he could think of.

Glancing at the names engraved upon the memorial, he was so glad she wasn't one of them, he decided that he'd had enough. He just couldn't deal with this anymore. So excusing himself from the group of people he'd positioned himself by so that it would appear as though he was making an effort, he fled, knowing exactly where it was that he was headed.

Although the interrogation rooms had been rebuilt to make them able to support modern techniques, they were still in the same place, and they still had the same feel to them. Tony found them strangely comforting, and had spent a large amount of time hiding himself in them. He guessed it was the moment he realised just how much he loved her, and it gave him a strange sense of peace that nothing else could.  
But today that was not going to be the case. Today, she was there, curled up in the corner, tears pouring helplessly from her eyed, her sobs filling the air with a pain that tore at him. Watching her through the window, he wondered how it was that he had doubted her. She was the one who had admitted to their feelings when she asked him out, it had been her who kissed him, and it had been her who had taken his hand in this room when she thought they were going to prison for what they had done. Not only that, but it was her who was sat in that same room now, crying and hurting.  
And although it had been her that had pulled away, it had been him that hadn't tried to fight for them. Instinctively, he made a decision. It didn't matter how much he hurt or that she had tried to keep a distance between them, he loved her.

Before he even knew what he was doing, she was buried in his arms, the uncontrollable sobs that wracked through her causing him to wrap her up as tightly as he could. He wasn't going to let her go through this alone.

As she realised what was happening, she tried to push him away from her, but he kept her tightly in his grip. He was the last person in the world she had wanted to find her here, and yet he was the one person who she wanted to be here with her. Eventually, she let her body collapse against his, still crying and shaking uncontrollably.

Feeling her relax against him, he released her slightly, letting himself just feel her warmth against him. It wasn't until then that he noticed the tears that had started to flow down his face. He let them, he couldn't keep them inside himself any more. Resting his head on top hers, he realised that he needed this as much as she did.


	12. Chapter 12

She was startled when she felt his tears drip across her face, mingling with hers before they nosily splattered on the floor. Pulling herself back from him and attempting to pull herself back together, she noticed that he looked just as bad as she imagined that she did. His eyes were the worse, swollen and red and filled with a pain that she knew she was responsible for. Without thinking, she reached out, her fingers gently caressing his cheek as she brushed his tears away with a faint smile.

He froze the moment she touched him, her fingers playing out across his face in a way he had spent the last six weeks praying that they would. Her eyes, still shiny with tears, but no less mesmerising, sparkled at him, drawing him in and stopping his breath. And that beautiful smile, the one that he'd fallen in love with the moment he met her, ran across her face and for a moment was all his.

Then she caught herself. Her mind screamed at her, what was she doing, she knew that she couldn't do this, it would just hurt too much. But wasn't she already hurting? She knew that she was, she was doing it again, working herself into an exhaustion so deep that she was too tired to do anything, too tired to think, too tired to feel. And worse, she was hurting him, she could see it in his eyes and it broke her heart.  
And then she made a decision, the decision she should have made long ago, but that she was too afraid to commit to. He was Tony, her best friend, she could trust him, she knew that she could, she'd been through hell and back with him and he was still here with her, his arms wrapped firmly about her waist, his eyes fixed on hers.  
Something inside of her warned her that he might not be, she still remembered his fingers pressing painfully into her wrist as he warned her not to lie to him over Jack. But she ignored that, she knew him, he wouldn't hurt her, and even if he did, it couldn't be much worse than the way she was feeling now. She was sat on the floor in an interrogation room crying for god's sake, how could it be any worse. All she knew was that she couldn't keep doing this, pretending, lying, pushing him away.

And so, fuelled by her desperation, and yet strangely following a rational stream of thought, she leant in and kissed him.

A moment ago, he had been in heaven, lost in her gaze, not thinking anything, just being with her. After having to dedicate the memorial, seeing all those people again, not seeing so many others, he hadn't thought that would be possible. But then she had hesitated, her fingers had lingered on his face and yet it was not the same. She was lost to him, he just had to accept that. She'd been caught up in a memory, had reached out to him because they were friends, there was nothing more there. He'd just got caught up in the moment, the same as last time.

The moment her lips touched his, he flinched, it was like a knife being driven through his heart, a particularly sharp knife with several stakes attached to it and covered in acid. Why did she keep doing this to him? She knew how he felt, he was so in love with her he could barely see straight. He couldn't take this anymore. So he pulled back from her forcing her to sit up properly.

She'd done it, she'd ruined it. She'd been too afraid to let him get close to her, and now he wasn't going to let her, she was too late, she'd done too much damage. She felt her eyes start to tear again, but held his eyes for a moment longer, willing him to understand. All she could see was his pain, the pain that she had caused. She should leave, she was just making things worse. Things were fine the way they were, she'd just made things worse.

So she ripped her eyes from his and forced herself onto exhausted feet, praying that she could make it to her car before her emotions overcame her, again.

"Michelle…" It had been there, all of it, written in her eyes, pleading with him. How had he missed it? She turned to him, exhaustion stealing colour from her and making her seem so very fragile. "See you tomorrow." It was the only reply he could give her.  
She nodded at him as the significance of his words sunk in. He was giving them a second chance, well a first chance really. The symmetry of them wasn't lost on her either, but this time there was no blushing, no awkward smile that eventually spread to encompass her entire face. There was just acceptance and hope, she had a second chance, maybe he could actually take her out on a date this time. So shooting him a sad smile that conveyed this, she turned and left.

He watched her go, wishing he could go with her, but knowing that it would be too much. They both needed to deal with what had happened today, and he knew full well that that was never going to happen when he was anywhere near her. Besides, there was always tomorrow.


	13. Chapter 13

He was wearing a new suit, she almost laughed when he saw that, but considering she was in the middle of a room full of people, she bit her lip, forcing herself to keep a straight face. Besides, he wasn't the only one wearing a new outfit, her skirt had cost a lot and it had taken her ages to find a top that went with it. She'd told herself that it was her first day back at CTU with a proper staff, and that she should make an effort, it was the same lie Tony had told himself when picking out his suit.

But work hadn't afforded her any time to speak to him yet, she'd forgotten that coming to work actually meant doing work, and they'd been running intel on a possible threat all morning.

She'd spent most of last night crying, but somehow, she actually found herself feeling much better, maybe this time she could get things right.

Tony sat in his office, getting gradually more and more frustrated with his computer, it had gotten to the point where he was actually considering throwing it through the window. He'd forgotten how tiring this job could be, and it had only been one day.  
Deciding he needed a break, he pulled himself back from the desk and towards the window. One of the things he had insisted on inside the new CTU was optional blacked out windows. He had blacked his out this morning, for no other reason than it was a new toy to play with, and Jack was coming in later, he wanted to be able to show it off. It also provided a great opportunity to spy on Michelle without her noticing. He was already very glad that he'd insisted on getting them installed.

He'd had to laugh when he saw her walk in, flaunting the regulations about dress once again. He didn't think he'd ever actually seen anything that fell within the regulations, not that he was complaining. As if she felt him watching her, she turned to glance at his office, and then remembered where she was and turned back to her work. She'd spent all morning briefing everybody on the new system and protocols, all the while co-ordinating the intel gathering for the threat. She wasn't likely to have a free minute any time soon.

Forcing himself back to work, he first picked up the envelope that had been sitting on his desk since morning. He had wanted to give it to her, but they had both been to busy, and it wasn't something he wanted her to open in the middle of the room. Inside were two tickets to one of those hideous love stories that she had been ranting on for ages about wanting to see. He'd spent the whole time winding her up about wanting to see a love story, and he knew she'd be surprised. It had opened a while ago, but they'd both been too busy and too wound up at the world to do anything apart from eat, sleep and work, so he knew she hadn't seen it. He'd made them for tomorrow, which hopefully meant that she would not have time to reconsider.

He'd also made them reservations at a restaurant that his sister had assured him, after about the fiftieth time he'd called to make sure, was exactly what he was looking for. He hoped so, this was an opportunity to put things right and he wasn't going to let it go.

But more importantly, the envelope contained a written apology from Ryan Chappelle. He didn't know what Ryan had said to her, but he had no doubt that it was at the centre of what had happened to Michelle. And although the apology wasn't for that; it was an apology for giving her an excessively heavy work load without the necessary compensation, and which offered her (along with him, at Tony's insistence) the next two weeks off; he hoped that it would replace some of the confidence which Ryan had destroyed.

Resisting the urge to open it and play with its contents, he slid it back onto his desk and forced himself to get some work done.

A knock at the door brought one of the new analysts into his office, he didn't know her name, and at this point he really didn't care. He'd been working for ages, and it had got to the point where his eyes were starting to burn. He had also managed to confirm something of which he had been fairly certain for a while, Brad Hammond was an incompetent moron.

So he snatched the folder from her hands and told her to leave, in a rather rude manner if he was honest with himself. It was information on one of the low ranking members of the organisation, someone who could be used to gain information. Jack was going to send someone in, so they needed to get the details right.

Flicking through the files, he barely needed to glance at them, they were what would be expected, minor charges, some time spent in jail, useful with setting up explosives. The general type of idiot that got involved with these things. Would be easy to manipulate and get information out of.

Placing the file in with a pile to send to Jack's office, his eyes suddenly caught on the surveillance photos. There was a well built man in his early thirties with his arms wrapped about a girl. Dark curls billowed about her face as sunlight glinted off her engagement ring.

He called down to the analyst that had brought the file up, a very annoyed sounding girl wearing a waistcoat, and told her to send Michelle up.  
This could not be happening, he could not have put himself in this position again. How could he have possibly been so stupid.


	14. Chapter 14

She resisted the urge to run her fingers through her hair as she climbed the stairs to his office. She'd been working non-stop all day, and if he was going to give her more stuff to do, it was quite possible that she might have to shoot him. However, if he just wanted to see her, well she could do with the break.

He watched her climb the stairs, checking that everything was in place. As she opened the door, he shot her a smile and motioned for her to sit on the chair, trying to keep his anger under check. She was going to pay for this.

Slightly perturbed by his request, she sat herself in his chair as he closed the door. "Tony… What's wrong?" She didn't get any further, quick as lightning his hands had the handcuffs clamped about her wrists, attaching her to the chair as he brought his gun to her head.

His instinct was to pull the trigger, but that wouldn't be enough. She was going to pay for what she did, and she was going to spend the rest of her life paying for it.

For an instant, she could barely believe what was happening, refusing to accept it. This was Tony, he wouldn't hurt her, she could trust him. But as the cold metal of his gun bit into her skin, she felt tears form in her eyes as her worst nightmare was realised.

She'd told herself she could trust him, had spent hours convincing herself to let her in, but here he was, pressing a gun into her head, and here she was, again. Trying to reason with him, desperately trying to understand why this was happening, she heard her voice call his name, sounding so pathetic against the anger that radiated from him.  
Hearing her calling her name, seeing the tears that he knew she would be forcing back nevertheless defeat her, he felt his resolve slip. This however, just made it worse. As much as he wanted to be angry at her, as much as he knew he should be hating her, he couldn't. Seeing her upset like this nearly broke him, he wanted to sweep her up in his arms, tell her that everything would be ok. He was so in love with her that he almost didn't care who she was, that she had betrayed him.

Somewhere inside himself, a comparison automatically leapt to his mind, one that he had desperately tried to avoid. Nina. That betrayal had been a particularly public one, everyone knew what had happened, and everywhere he turned, he was reminded of it. Yet somehow, it didn't sting as much as this did. He had convinced himself that he was in love with Nina, she had been an obsession that he had nurtured for months, and to actually have her was more than he hoped for. But he knew that the feelings weren't reciprocated, and if he was honest, his feelings diminished almost as soon as he got to know her better.

With Michelle, his feelings had, if anything, actually grown as he got to know her better, and after everything they had been through, he actually felt as though he needed her.

If she had betrayed him, he wasn't sure if he would cope. Even seeing her upset was destroying him.

Forcing himself to concentrate, drawing upon the anger he had tried to hide after Nina's betrayal, he threw the file at her, opening to the photo; ignoring the pain that her image then conjured when he compared it with the frightened Michelle that sat in front of him.

Seeing her image in the file, Michelle finally understood what this was about. She clenched her eyes shut, forcing back the tears. She was not going to let him see her like this, not if that was what he thought of her. It would almost be funny if the memories attached to that picture weren't so painful, and if Tony wasn't pointing a gun at her head.

As he saw understanding flutter through her eyes, he felt a grim smile pass his lips. Now she knew, knew that she was caught, knew that he had found out. Her tears stopped, and her eyes flicked up to his, the anger radiating from them matching his. The part of himself that was disjointed from his emotions whispered, "Got you," through his head, but the rest of him was completely numb. Something inside of him had been praying that somehow this was a misunderstanding, that she wasn't a traitor. But seeing her, he knew he was wrong.


	15. Chapter 15

Dropping the gun on his desk, just out of her reach, but close enough that she would attempt to get at it, he whispered at her, "What the hell have you done Michelle?" His face was just inches from hers, he could feel her breath as it drifted across his neck. As he reined himself in, pulling himself back from her, he caught her eyes, and was mesmerised by the mix of emotions pouring from them. True, anger dominated her, but what caught his attention was the pain he saw.

Instinct took him over, and before he could think what it was he was doing, his fingers were brushing the moisture her tears had left from her face.

Her anger melted away the moment his fingers touched her face, his eyes filled with a softness that she recognised, the same softness that she knew was mirrored by her eyes. "Tony…" She whispered, wincing at the pain in her voice.

He almost laughed at that, but this pulled him back to reality. He drew himself back from her, pushing his eyes closed for a moment as he considered what he was going to do. Then he looked at her, his eyes filled with pleading. "Tell me…Please Michelle, tell me I'm wrong."

"You're wrong." What else could she say? Either he believed her or he didn't.  
He held her gaze for a moment, searching for something to tell him whether she was telling the truth. He did believe her, but then again, he had believed in Nina. His fingers strayed to the handcuffs tracing the metal that was lacing her skin as it bit into her. "Michelle…please…" He couldn't finish, he wanted desperately to trust her, but he just couldn't.

"That's…He's…" Swallowing hard, and trying to repress the memories that were dancing about her head, she forced herself continue. "His name is David. There's…There's a police report on this. Please don't…I can't…" She trailed off, unable to finish. The pain was something she could deal with, but the fear was something else entirely.

She heard him sigh, but didn't look up, couldn't. She had tried so hard to forget this, and he was the last person she wanted to know about it, let alone discuss it with. It wasn't until she felt his fingers working the handcuffs free of her wrist that she was able to meet his eyes.

"Show me," he whispered as he freed one hand, reattaching the other to the chair.  
She glanced at his gun, he hadn't moved it, and it was now within in her reach. He followed her eyes, but said nothing as he nudged the keyboard closer to her. It was a start, something to grab onto as she felt the world she had built collapse around her.  
She didn't feel anything as her fingers flew over the keys, the same way as they did every day, but this time filled with urgency. She tried to keep herself calm, to prepare herself for what she knew she was about to see, to brace herself for his reaction.  
But it was a pointless exercise, she had forgotten the photo's that were attached to the file, and the memories that they brought back were more than she could fight against.  
The fear that traced through her as he found her going through his stuff. The pain as his familiar weight crushed her into the floor, choking the air from her. The stinging pain as her salty tears fled into the open cut just below her eye. The bitter taste of the blood that poured into her mouth as his teeth tore through her flesh. The shiver of fear that traced her spine as the glaring light glinted off the blade of his knife that was approaching her face.

As he watched a single tear drop from her eye, he whispered to her, "It's alright. I promise you it's going to be ok."

She looked at him, nodding slightly as a soft smile appeared on her face. Despite everything, she believed him. She brought her free hand up to her face and wiped the tear from her face.

Catching her hand in his, he brought it to his mouth, gently tracing the swollen skin where the handcuffs had cut into. As he brought it down, he entwined her things with his. "I don't understand. Why wasn't this on his record." It wasn't the apology that he wanted to utter to her, but somehow it was all he could manage.

Michelle understood, pulling him closer to her. "I didn't…I didn't press charges."

"What…but…" He didn't even know how to respond to that.

"I was advised not to…he, um, he came out worse than I did." Catching his sharp glance, she smiled slightly, hearing the satisfying crunch as her booted foot connected with his stomach echoing through her mind. "I broke his nose and two of his ribs."  
The laugh that this brought from him was small, lessened by the picture of her swollen face on the screen and the fear which he'd seen haunting her face. It was enough, however, to bring a small laugh from her as well as she drew his face close enough for her to be able to kiss him.

He kissed her softly for a moment until her giggling forced him to pull back. "What?"  
"Don't ever point a gun at me again." She whispered, laughing as he rolled his eyes at her.

"I'm going to speak to Jack," he grinned as she pulled a face at him. Then kissing her quickly, he murmured, "Stay here," before disappearing out the door.


	16. Chapter 16

_A/N- This is the last chapter- if you've got this far leave me a review _

Ignoring him completely, she went to leave his office, mostly to wind him up. The smile which he had left upon her face was still there. And although she could still feel his gun pressed into the back of her head, she could also feel his fingers gently caressing the swollen skin about her wrists.

It was then that she noticed that he'd left her attached to the chair, and it was then that reality sunk in. She was in his office for God's sake. What the hell was she doing? Everything, all the things that she'd tried to keep hidden for so long had poured out, she had told him everything. All the emotions that his smiling eyes and soft kiss had been able to push away came flooding back, fear, anger, humiliation. She curled herself up as best she could in the chair, breathing in his soft scent and trying to calm herself down.

There was no way in hell that she was going to be able to go back to work right now especially not if the case was about David.

She rubbed her eyes, knowing that there were no tears there, but in a silent memory of the tears that she had cried. She wasn't going to cry now, that was over. It was just hard, that was all.

Tony had been standing at the door for a while now, watching her. She really was the strongest person he knew. The photographs attached to the police reports said more than words ever could. He'd seen the terror in her eyes, the way her breathing quickened when she thought about it. And yet she was still here, still holding herself together.

Without saying a word, he moved himself closer to her, allowing himself to settle in her hair before speaking.

Her eyes met his, and he felt his heart miss a beat. They were still red and slightly swollen from where he'd forced terrified tears out of them by pointing a gun at her. That was not however, what caught his attention, he found himself melting in the trust that he saw there. So much so that when he finally found the nerve to speak, his voice was hoarse and broken. Pulling himself together under her teasing grin, "They're bringing him in, for interrogation."

Her face fell, and for a moment he found himself staring into the agony she had had to endure. But then she nodded and went to leave, again forgetting that she was still attached to the chair.

Seeing the plea in her eyes, he went to undo the handcuffs, but grasped at her fingertips before she could escape. "I spoke to Jack…He agreed." Michelle looked at him in confusion, but he brushed her objections aside. "You can't be here, conflict of interests. I'm going to take you home."

He watched the smile break out on her face as she pressed herself against him. As she reached up to kiss him, he tried to look indignant as he whispered, "Hey, this is my office you know."

Ignoring him entirely, she kissed him anyway, then replied, "Well, you better take me home then." Which brought a smile to his face as well.

They detached themselves from each other long enough to walk from his office to his car, at which point he kissed her again, secure that his blackened windows provided them security from the CCTV cameras and any prying eyes.

Eventually, still trying to catch his breath, Tony drove her back home. Initially the car fell into a companionable silence, but this turned awkward fairly quickly as Michelle's mind went into overdrive and Tony tried to find something to break it.  
When his car pulled up in front of her apartment, she almost wasn't sure what to do. She didn't want to go and sit in her apartment alone, she'd had enough of that recently, and all she really wanted was to melt into his arms. And she sure as hell didn't want him going back to CTU and interrogating David. She didn't ever want Tony near him. But she also knew that he had to go back to work. He was the director, he shouldn't even have driven her home, although she appreciated that he had. But he could hardly take time out of work to babysit his girlfriend. That thought brought a smile to her face that she tried to repress, but didn't quite manage.

Seeing the anxious expression on her face break into a smile, Tony made a decision. Switching off the engine, he turned to her and asked, "Do you need a hand?"

Not quite sure what he was referring to, Michelle replied, "What?"

"With getting your stuff," he answered, enjoying the confusion his words created.

"You're coming back to mine. I'm going to cook you dinner, and I don't actually think you own any food."

Ignoring that for the moment, Michelle replied, "But you can't, you've got to go back to CTU," despite the fact that her face suggested that she liked the idea of going back to his as much as she did.

"They're hardly going to let me back in, I've never even met him, and already I want to kill him," he whispered as he twirled a strand of her hair between his fingers.

She smiled, and this smile was the first in a long time that wasn't tinged with pain and fear.

He presumed she was asleep, her breathing had become soft and regular as she lay in his arms. Very carefully, so as not to wake her, he brought one of her hands to his mouth, kissing the tender skin; the apology which he had been unable to form earlier coming to him now. "I am so sorry I thought you were her, you're not. I know that. I'm so sorry. I just… I love you. I would never, ever hurt you. I'm so sorry." His soft whispers mixed with her breaths to fill the room, so much so that he was surprised to find her staring back at him, her eyes thick with tears.

"Hey," she whispered, brushing at his eyes which he was surprised to find were leaking tears onto her hair. "It's OK. I'm sorry too. I thought you were him, I was scared to trust you. But its OK." She pulled herself closer to him, aware that tears were now pouring from both of them. "I love you and I trust you."

He hugged her to him as tightly as he could, not ever wanting to let her go. The voice that echoed about him was his, but not as he had heard it, almost broken by the happiness in it, "Tomorrow, I'm taking you out on that date, dinner and a movie, like I promised."

Her tone was decidedly more seductive as she answered, "In which case, tomorrow I'm taking you home."

"What's that supposed to mean," he teased her.

"I think you can work it out," she giggled as she shifted so that her back was against him.

Hearing her sigh, he kissed the top of her head and whispered, "Go to sleep," content just to watch her until she did.


End file.
